The No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions would like to break one streak that’s been nagging like a bad tooth-ache and that’s losing eight games in a row to the Michigan Wolverines. Saturday, Penn State will get its chance to snap that streak when they play Michigan at the Big House in Anne Arbor, Mich., starting at 3:30 p.m. ET in a nationally televised contest on ABC.
Oddsmakers at online sports betting giant Bodog.com opened wagering by installing Penn State a -2 ½ point favorite; however, due to heavy early betting action on the Nittany Lions (78 percent) have now reset the line to its current position at -3 with a 47 total. Total movement is not expected with betting nearly even but slightly favoring the OVER with 55 percent of wagers placed.
After losing its first two games of the season to Appalachian State and Oregon, Michigan began its climb back to respectability with a 38-0 thumping of Notre Dame last week. A win over Penn State Saturday would be just what the doctor ordered in getting the season back on course; especially with games against Northwestern and Eastern Michigan, almost sure wins, on the horizon. Of course Michigan must keep focused on taking care of business at hand and that’s beating Penn State.
The Nittany Lions have hardly been challenged in the young season going 3-0 SU and 2-1 ATS against three weak opponents with a 31-10 win over Notre Dame included in the group. Penn State mashed Florida International 59-0 to open the season Sept 1 followed by the Notre Dame win in week-2 and a 45-24 showing against Buffalo last week. The Buffalo win marked the first time Penn State failed to cover the betting spread as they were favored by 34 ½.
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr expects the Nittany Lions to come in well prepared for a battle.
"I think Penn State, they have had a lot of great teams down through the years and I think this is an outstanding football team in every phase of the game,” Carr said at his weekly press conference. “It is truly one of the best Penn State defensive teams that I've seen.
"Offensively, they are extremely well balanced,” Carr said. “They are running for 217 yards a game and throw one for almost 200. So they are a well-balanced offensive team. They have got a senior quarterback in (Anthony) Morelli, a big guy that's got a great arm.”
Legendary Penn State coach Joe Paterno has to prepare his team for the possible return of All BIG TEN quarterback Chad Henne’s return to the Michigan lineup while also being prepared to face the freshman signal caller Ryan Mallett. But Paterno knows the key to stopping Michigan is to stop running back Mike Hart.
Yeah, no question about it; if Hart can run for 200 yards we're going to be in for a long day, and he's capable of doing more than that,” Paterno said. “ He could have run for 300 yards against Notre Dame if they wanted him to do it.”
The Wolverines are getting +120 money line juice at online sportsbook BetUS.com.
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